When most people start talking about fitness, many time supplements get brought up even though many people do not know the intended dosages or even use for many common supplements. Since people do not know much about them, many will go to a local supplement store to get information and buy some. In worst case scenarios, they will even take these people and convince them they need to spend and exuberant amount of money on a bunch of supplements to get in shape. Since so many people do not understand the basics to supplementation, I figured I would go over the 3 most basic ones that I believe can be taken at any level of fitness.
The first thing that needs to noted about supplements is that they are not needed. Supplements are made to SUPPLEMENT an already established diet and training program. Without having those set up first, supplements will likely be a waste of money. This is because there is no magic pill that will solve all of your fitness problems. Supplements are designed to help push you that little extra few percent, or make it a little more manageable to hit your goals, not do all the work. The six I am going to cover are in no particular order, and the ones I feel are the most basic. I’ve both researched all of these supplements, and have tried many different brands of each type. I believe there is a strong place for supplements in someone’s fitness journey, and they can be very beneficial if used correctly.
Protein
Protein is one of the most basic supplements and one that I believe could be utilized by someone at any fitness level. Many people benefit from a high protein diet, and even if someone does not wish to eat high protein, many people can benefit from getting a little extra in their diet. Food protein sources are very satiating, meaning they tend to make you feel more full than carbs and fats. Because of this, many people find it hard to eat large quantities of protein. If your are one of these people, me included, you may be able to benefit from a protein supplement. It usually comes in a powder form, but there are some brands of pre-mixed protein drinks.
Now if you decide you want to start taking protein, the first thing to realize is that not all created equal, or even process the same way in our bodies. The three main types of protein are whey, whey isolate, and casein.
Whey - Standard protein powder. Usually has some carbs, and maybe even fats in it as well. It is what most people refer to when they bring up protein. It can be drunk with meals, as a protein replacement for a meal itself (if you are trying to get over 3 protein feedings a day), before and after workouts, and as a nighttime snack before bed.
Whey Isolate - It is just like whey, but this type has been processed in a way that makes it more pure and easier to digest. The higher quality does usually come with a higher price, but the amount of protein you get per serving is usually higher than standard whey, along with consisting of only protein rather than added carbs and fats. This type follows the same protocols as normal whey and can be drunk with meals, as a protein replacement for a meal itself (if you are trying to get over 3 protein feedings a day), before and after workouts, and as a nighttime snack before bed.
Casein - This is a slow digesting protein. Many people will consume this type either before bed, or when they know they will not get to eat for a while. I used to drink this type, and think it is worth a try. But recently I have not been purchasing it because I have a bad habit of forgetting to make a shake before bed.
There are other types such as soy, hemp, and vegan. These are usually for people who have a problem digesting the other main types. I would recommend straying away from these types unless your dietary needs prompts you to need them over whey, whey isolate, or casein. I personally choose to drink isolate most of the time. I often drink a shake right after my workout, and also when I know my protein intake is low for the day.
One thing many people do not realize about protein is that is usually has an adequate amount of branched chain amino acids (BCAA’s). This is important to note, because many people will separately buy BCAA’s. Even though it is perfectly okay to do so, and there may even be some additional benefits from getting the extra dosage, it is not needed for someone who could benefit more from saving the money. I used to buy and drink BCAA’s with every workout, but because I started being more strict with my budget, they were one of the first things I cut out due to the fact I was already getting them in my protein.
Pro Tip:
The last thing I wanted to note about protein powder is the lactose issue. I know many people including myself that are lactose intolerant. Protein does not affect mine too bad, but it usually does cause cramping if I do not purchase the top of the line protein such as 1st Phorm’s. So if you can’t afford a premium brand, you may run into this problem as well. One way to combat this is to take a lactaid supplement along with your shake to bypass any negative effects that come along with not digesting lactose. I actually do not even take a whole serving of the lactose supplement. I buy a bottle of the lactaid pills rather than the individually packaged ones. Then if you notice on the bottle, it says three pills is a full serving. So rather than take three, I only take one since I only need a small does to keep from cramping. Hopefully that little tip can help anyone that has strayed away from protein because of lactose issues.
Creatine
There are multiple forms of creatine. The two main ones are monohydrate and HCL. Creatine monohydrate is one of the most tested and researched supplements around. Creatine HCL is similar to monohydrate, but the dosing is smaller along with being more water soluble. Since monohydrate is more widely used, that is the one we are going to cover for the purpose of this article.
Creatine is found naturally in our bodies, and is normally consumed in sources such as red meat. For some reason many people who are not familiar with it daemonize it. They treat it as a steroid, and not as a food supplement. This is clearly a misunderstanding of what creatine is and how it can help us.
When we supplement with creatine, the majority of it is absorbed into our muscles. The main advantage to using it in conjunction with training, is it helps improve strength and performance with high-intensity exercises. It does this by increasing our bodies capacity to produce ATP. ATP provides the energy we use during our workouts. It does not cause a continuous increase in strength though. Some people may notice their lifts go up a little bit once they start taking creatine. You can think of this as a one time 1-3% increase. From then on you will just reap the other benefits such as an increased capacity to produce ATP, and some other potential benefits such as help in combating low blood sugar, fatty liver disease, improved muscle function for older individuals, and some neurological protection.
Every supplement company should obviously put the directions for consumption right on the container, but the standard daily serving is 5 grams. Now most will also talk about a loading phase, which I do not feel is necessary. A loading phase is when you take extra dosages to increase the amount of creatine in your body, and then after the loading phase you would move to a maintenance serving. Sometimes the high dosing may lead to some digestional discomfort, so for that reason you can skip the loading phase and start right at the maintenance serving. Since creatine is a supplement that most people can take for the rest of their lives, there is no reason to take a bunch right away to get the elevated creatine levels. It will happen naturally over time with the maintenance servings. And by over time I mean maybe a month or two, and not one to two weeks. Then once you have been taking creatine for a period of time, it is not essential to take it every single day like usually prescribed. If it took our bodies a few weeks to get to elevated creatine levels, it will also take a few weeks for our bodies to come back down as well. Therefore, if it is convenient for you to take it during the weekdays when your day is very routine, but you always forget on the weekend when your day is more random that's perfectly okay. Some people will even only take it on training days because they remember to mix it in with their post workout shake. The two days missed, or a day here and there that you forgot should not cause any problems and is not anything to stress over.
Pre-Workout
Pre-workouts are designed for exactly what the name suggests, a supplement to take right before you workout. Companies make all kinds of different blends that contain ingredients such as beta-alanine, citrulline, taurine, b-vitamins, bcaa’s, and coconut powder. The main ingredient that almost all have in common that I use it for is caffeine. All of those other ingredients help your body in a number of ways from supporting muscular endurance, increase focus, increase blood flow. But the main reason most people take it, is because they need a little push to help get them through their workout. That is mainly what I use them for. I do buy a premium brand pre-workout, so I luckily do get a lot of added benefits other than a caffeine spike, but I only take it when I need it. I usually save my pre-workout for when I workout at the end of my day. When I train earlier in the day and have more energy I will usually just have some coffee or an energy drink. This goes to show that it is something that can be easily substituted. If you are new to working out you don’t think that you need to buy a pre-workout, almost any caffeine source will provide you with what you are looking for, at least when you are starting out.
Pro-tip:
I see many people drink their pre-workout or energy drink right before they walk out onto the gym floor, and there are even a lot of people that carry around their energy drink to sip on throughout their workout. Caffeine takes about an hour to spike in your system, so the people that do this aren’t getting the full effects of their caffeine until their workout is pretty much over. I usually take mine before I even leave for the gym to give it at least 30 minutes or so to kick in. This way it starts working at the beginning of my workout, spikes in the middle of it, then I can still reap the benefits of taking it throughout the rest of my workout.
When it comes to buying supplements, you usually get what you pay for. People are so quick to buy the cheapest product when it comes to something they are ingesting. There are multiple tiers when it comes to supplements. Some companies focus on putting out a decent product at a decent price, while others cost a bit more but are of the highest quality. Then their are obviously some brands that are so low quality they can be considered snake oil, but people buy them because they are so cheap. I believe it is important to find a brand you can trust. There are multiple avenues to find reliable supplements. Aside from talking to people you know or follow what your favorite fitness influencer is taking, a good resource for people who have no clue is Labdoor.com. It is a third party testing site, that ranks different supplements on a variety of categories. Every supplement is not on there, and even some of the brands I use have not been covered by them, but it is a good place to start looking if you are totally lost.
Another great resource that doesn’t cover brands, but instead dives deeper into individual ingredients is examine.com. Whenever you start taking a new supplement it wouldn’t hurt to go on to Examin.com and check up on the ingredients of what you are taking. They cover research, effective dosing, how well an ingredient works, and safety concerns. It is a great tool to give yourself a quick breakdown that is easy to understand so you are not blindy taking something. You can also check to see if a supplement you are going to potentially takes contains enough of the main ingredient to be effective. Unfortunately there are some companies that put just a tiny bit of certain ingredients to be able to put them on the label and charge more, but in reality, the dosing is so low they might as well not put it in the supplement.
I not opposed to either shopping online for supplements or going to a physical store to buy them. I actually do both. There are a few fitness influencers that I follow, and because I want to support them, I purchase some of my products through links on their Instagrams to help give them sale credits. Then I also get emails from a few supplement stores, and whenever I see a good sale I will go stop in, or sometimes I go to one when I need something quickly that I forgot to order. If you do choose to go to a store so you can ask questions, just make sure you pay attention to how the employees speak to you. I have had both very good interactions with supplement store employees where they took the time to educate me, and I’ve had some bad ones where all they were trying to do was sell me more product. I’m not saying go into the store with a chip on your shoulder and question everything they say, just be aware of the conversation.